This month, let’s remember the real reason for the holiday: a man who passionately pursued God even when it cost him dearly. He laid down his pride, his comfort, his right to be offended, and his past in order to take up the calling that Christ had on his life. He pushed past fear, refusing to let anything keep him from sharing the love of God with those who didn’t know Him.

The Lord has called me to say ‘yes’ to where He leads me. I am not sure where I’ll end up or what I shall be doing, but I have an eternal ‘yes’ in my heart. My ways led to destruction, but I have learned that His way leads to life, joy, and everlasting hope.

After you identify who God says you are, I encourage you to meditate on the list. If any of them are difficult for you to accept or believe, give that over to God. Let what He says about you wash over you, replacing who you were and those lies you’ve believed about yourself.

I’ve started to shake off the labels that stick to me in exchange for one that shatters them all: HIS.I’ve spent a lot of time asking myself “How is my story going to help someone?” and, to sum it up, my story shows that God is for everyone.

I’m still learning to believe that God is enough. That I am enough. And that my identity isn’t found in what I have or haven’t done, but in who He says that I am. I am grateful for true freedom, true forgiveness that keeps no record of wrong, and for a love that never stops pursuing me.

As the year draws to a close, it’s an invitation for reflection and anticipation. In the blink of an eye, it’s going to be 2018, complete with New Year's resolutions, gym memberships, healthy eating plans, and determinations to ‘do better’ (whatever that means). But before we move ahead to the next year, I believe it’s good to look back on this year.

I no longer have to take on the identity of others but can remain grounded in what God says. I have found that embracing my true identity in Christ is exceedingly better than any counterfeit version someone can try to place on me.

One morning, while studying His word, I believe God spoke to me and said,

“I am your Husband. I can love you and will love you BETTER than any man on this earth ever will.”

That day, everything changed for me and I truly began to see God as my everything. I experienced his immense love for me in a new way and that began to change how I treated others. When I knew I was infinitely, intimately loved by the Lord, I could be free to love others well too.

God made me a gypsy soul. I was never meant to be captured by a man, led on, and abused, NONE of us are meant for that. And though I still don't understand why I had to suffer through such abuse, I have found healing in Him. I know He carries me, loves me, and encourages me to speak my truth through music and raw testimony. He hides me in the shelter of His wings, in the comfort of His grace, and I will never take that for granted.

We are WARRIORS and with God, we will always make it through the hurt.

This is why we celebrate. Because God so loved those he created that He gave His own Son who humbled Himself to be born in a place unfit for the One who created it all. His loving fulfillment of his promise is why we give gifts and spread cheer. His love that restored relationship with those of us who had strayed far from Him is the reason for the season.

Despite my shame and the lies that had made my mind their home, God, in His gentleness, was convicting me day in and day out. While I wanted to fix myself, for myself, by myself, God wanted my surrender. God wanted to give me His grace. But I wanted the credit and glory for my healing.

I've lived with severe depression for years and tried to take my life many times, but God wasn't done with me. Now, I use my story and my message to encourage others. If God wasn't done with me, he surely isn't done with you! Don't give up. Keep going. Keep pursuing God!